Baying at the moon

An appellant seeking permission to replace boarding kennels in the New Forest found that she was not baying at the moon, an inspector deciding that accommodation for 20 dogs would not result in greater disturbance to neighbours than 10 dogs (DCS Number 400-020-838).

Here is the inspector’s reasoning:

“….20 dogs could clearly generate noise as a result of barking and other sounds, but how much more noise 20 dogs would generate than the 10 dogs licensed in 2009 is unclear. The appellant’s noise report however indicates that noise levels would not increase at the same rate as the number of dogs. Therefore 20 dogs would not sound twice as loud as 10, and in the unlikely event that all 20 dogs barked in unison, the sound generated would be louder, but not considerably louder than 10 dogs barking in unison.”

Bearing in mind the potential for improved noise insulation and a management plan, and in the context of existing traffic noise, the inspector concluded that the development would not cause unacceptable adverse effects on the living conditions of the occupiers of neighbouring properties by virtue of noise and disturbance. A bone of contention remained, however, the inspector deciding that the development would have an unacceptable adverse effect on highway safety.

The topic of noise from kennels is covered at section 23.133 of DCP Online.

A "net health gain" principle should be embedded in national planning policy to ensure that new developments do not contribute to the problem of air pollution, a report by government agency Public Health England has recommended.

The government's Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), which sets the policy framework for the expansion of Heathrow airport, should be "set aside and reconsidered" if it is found to be legally flawed, the High Court has been told on the first day of a legal challenge against the airport's expansion.

Plans have been approved for 1,500 homes on an employment site in Salford Quays, including a tower of up to 46 storeys, after officers concluded the development would not compromise neighbouring employment uses.

Plans have been approved for a mixed-use scheme with over 1,100 homes on a site currently used as a retail park off London's Old Kent Road, after planners concluded that the scheme's negative impacts, including the loss of retail space, would be compensated for by "major regeneration benefits".

The government has said it will "robustly defend" itself against a legal challenge which is seeking to have the approval for the expansion of Heathrow airport sent back to Parliament for reconsideration, as the case opens at the High Court today.

The High Court has upheld an inspector's ruling that the size of an area of hard-standing at a fencing company's yard in Surrey was so far in excess of what was required by a building on the site as to render it not ancillary to the building.